Google Alerts quietly received a redesign overnight, gaining a brand new user interface that closer aligns with the appearance of other Google web services. In addition to a streamlined user interface, the service is also more automated now and offers alert suggestions for your name and email address, popular tech companies, athletes, celebrities, countries, places, industries and more.
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Google has published its annual Economic Impact Report (PDF) that reveals some interesting statistics about how the web and its tools are helping American businesses. Last year, the report claims that Google tools helped generate $111 billion of economic activity for 1.5 million businesses, web-based publishers and non-profit organizations across the United States.
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Google announced on Thursday afternoon that it has released Chrome 37 beta with a number of new developer features, making it easier to create richer and faster web content and apps. The beta release includes support for the DirectWrite API on Windows for high-quality text rendering, even on high DPI displays.
The release also adds an HTML element called <dialog> as one of its headline features, allowing for styled boxes that can be controlled with JavaScript. More than a half-dozen other improvements were also made.
The full changelog from the Chromium blog:
Other updates in this release
- The Web Cryptography JavaScript API is enabled by default starting in Chrome 37, allowing developers to perform cryptographic operations such as hashing, signature generation/verification, and encryption.
- Subpixel font scaling is now supported, which enables smooth animations of text between font sizes.
- TouchEvents are now longs instead of integers, enabling higher-fidelity touch interactions on high-DPI displays.
- CSS cursor values “zoom-in” and “zoom-out” are now unprefixed.
- The number of cores on a physical machine can now be accessed bynavigator.hardwareConcurrency.
- The user’s preferred languages are now accessible by navigator.languages, and the languagechange event is fired when this is updated.
- The CSS Shapes Module allows developers to define non-rectangular text wrapping boundaries around floated elements.
- NPAPI deprecation continues according to our previously-announced plan with a harder-to-bypass blocking UI.
- The default monospace font on Windows is now Consolas instead of Courier New.
If you happen to be an early adopter of the Samsung Gear Live smartwatch, you might want to be especially careful with your charging cradle. When a Gear Live owner named Mike reached out to Samsung Support USA on Twitter, he was regretfully informed that Samsung does not have Gear Live accessories available on their end yet.
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Google has began rolling out an experimental feature on its search engine that makes it easier to find live events on YouTube or Hangouts on Air. A live event will begin showing up in search results up to 3 hours before it starts, providing users with a link that takes them to the event page to watch. A card-like box appears at the top of Google when searching for the name or author of live events.
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Verizon has began selling the Sony Xperia Z2 tablet with 4G LTE for $499.99 on a new two-year service agreement, both online and in stores. The tablet can also be purchased for $599.99 without contract, or for 20 equal payments of $29.99 through the Verizon Edge program. The 32 GB black model appears to be the only version that can be purchased online at this time.
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Google is giving back to the community that it has called home for the past eight years, agreeing to cover the costs of four electric shuttle buses for public transportation in Mountain View. According to the local newspaper Mountain View Voice, Google has provided the city with a large contribution that will help fund the shuttle bus project for at least two years.
The community shuttles are expected to be operational by the fall, with a proposal that they run every 30 minutes on weekdays and every hour on weekends in areas where public transportation is lacking. Mountain View Mayor Chris Clark claims that the buses are not intended for daily commuting, but rather for short trips across town and recreational or leisure purposes.
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Google announced this afternoon that it has promoted Chrome 36 to the Stable channel for Windows and Mac. Chrome 36.0.1985.122 has a number of bug fixes and improvements, including:
- Rich Notifications Improvements
- An Updated Incognito / Guest NTP design
- The addition of a Browser crash recovery bubble
- Chrome App Launcher for Linux
- Lots of under the hood changes for stability and performance
The update also includes 26 security fixes.
Google placed a lot of emphasis on Material Design and other new Android L features at Google I/O last month, but its Android One reference platform was actually one of the most important announcements made during the three-hour keynote. Android One will consist of Google supplying reference hardware to handset makers, who can use the guidelines to manufacture smartphones that will retail for $100 or less.
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Samsung announced on Wednesday that its premium lineup of Level headphones and speakers will soon be available in the United States. The collection consists of three premium headphones and one Bluetooth speaker system, ranging between $149.99 and $349.99 in price.
The headphones and speakers can be synced with Samsung’s streaming music service Milk Music on select Galaxy devices, while the Level Over headphones in particular can be paired with Samsung’s new Level app for an enhanced audio experience.
I cannot help but assume that this move was at least slightly inspired by Apple’s acquisition of Beats Electronics a few months ago.
Samsung Level products will be available exclusively on designer brand website Gilt beginning tomorrow.
Dallas –Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC (Samsung Mobile) today announced the U.S. availability of the Samsung Level™ portfolio of premium mobile audio products. The Level audio portfolio is a collection of three premium headphones and a Bluetooth speaker — all designed for portability and style while producing high quality sound.
The portfolio includes: Level Over, Level On, Level In and Level Box. All four devices work seamlessly with smartphones and tablets, and the Level Over can be further customized using the Samsung Level App to elevate the audio experience. In addition, the Level portfolio easily syncs with Milk Music™ powered by Slacker, Samsung’s free music streaming service for select Galaxy devices*, offering an easy-to-use interface and more than 200 stations to further amplify your music listening experience.
Level Over is available for $349.99, Level On $179.99, Level In $149.99 and Level Box $169.99. Gilt.com, the innovative online shopping destination, is offering its members exclusive, first access to the portfolio, starting Thursday, July 17 at noon ET at www.gilt.com/level. The sale, which lasts for 72 hours, will also feature an exclusive bundle of the Level On and Level Box for $299.99. The portfolio will also be available on Amazon.com (July 20), Samsung.com (July 21) and select Samsung Experience Shops at Best Buy stores (July 27).
Level Over
The Samsung Level Over is an over-ear headphone designed for an immersive sound experience. Level Over delivers powerful, clear, sharp sound, ergonomically designed comfort and wireless Bluetooth technology.
Level Over includes Active Noise Cancellation, employing four mics on the inside and outside of the headphones to cancel outside sounds. In addition, Level Over includes technology that prevents resonance between the vibration plate and the frame, avoiding unnecessary booming and helping to provide the original sound. Users can control volume, navigate tracks, pause or stop music, answer or end a call all using the Smart Control Technology on the side of the headphones.
Level On
The Level On is an on-ear, wired headphone that packs a powerful, clear and pure sound in a compact design. Soft polyurethane cushioning provides comfort with a foldable ergonomic design makes this the perfect headphone for the on-the-go mobile user.
Level In
The Level In is an in-ear, wired headphone that packs a powerful three-way speaker system that controls treble, mid-range and deep bass, providing clear sound separation and rich, natural sound quality.
Level Box
Level Box is a premium, compact Bluetooth speaker that streams high quality audio from any Samsung Galaxy phone – or any other Bluetooth compatible device – directly to the speaker for crystal-clear sound. The sleek, distinctive design is optimized to provide noise reduction and echo cancellation, and a built in rechargeable battery offers up to 15 hours of continuous playback on a single charge. One touch Near-Field Communications (NFC) or the dedicated Bluetooth pairing button provides effortless synching. Control buttons make it easy to adjust volume or play/pause music, and a high-quality HD built in microphone makes it a great device for phone or conference calls.
For more information, please visit www.samsungmobileuspress.com.
*Milk Music is compatible with Galaxy S 5, Galaxy S 4, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Mega and Galaxy S 4 mini across all carriers as well as the Galaxy Tab S.
If you have ever wondered how many Bitcoins you can afford with your American dollars, you can now turn to Google. Following in the footsteps of Bing and Yandex, Google has partnered with CoinBase to add a Bitcoin currency conversion tool to its search results.
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Samsung had added another smartphone to its lineup of devices that will be receiving an update to Android 4.4.2 KitKat. The software version is now rolling out for the Galaxy S4 Zoom in Russia, bringing faster performance, a redesigned status bar, full-screen album art and all other Android 4.4 features to the smartphone.
The Galaxy K Zoom could also be in the mix to receive the software update, although it has yet to be seeded for that device. Android 4.4.2 KitKat should be available for the Galaxy S4 Zoom in other regions over the next few weeks, although you can also navigate to Settings > About Phone > Software Updates to force an install.
Firmware Details:
• Model: SM-C101
• Model name: GALAXY S4 Zoom
• Country: Russia
• Version: Android 4.4.2
• Changelist: 1972456
• Build date: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 16:08:42 +0000
• Product Code: SER
• PDA: C101XXUBNF4
• CSC: C101SERBNF4
• MODEM: C101XXUBNF4
According to a report from TechCrunch, Samsung is in talks with SmartThings to acquire the smart home platform for around $200 million. The report originally claimed that the deal was completed, but TechCrunch has since updated the report to note a second source says the talks are still ongoing.
SmartThings is a home automation platform that enables Android and iOS users to effortlessly control their home from one simple app, including lights, locks, electronics, appliances and other connected home devices. The app can also detect motion, alert you of danger and monitor how many family members are home at any given time.
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Google has joined forces with Adobe to release a unified Noto Sans CJK font family for Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Korean, four languages that represent nearly one-quarter of readers worldwide. Noto Sans CJK is a high-quality Pan-CJK font family that aims to provide a richer reading experience to the East Asian community across operating systems and apps.
Google explained the technical details of the font family in a recent blog post:
Noto Sans CJK is a sans serif typeface designed as an intermediate style between the modern and traditional. It is intended to be a multi-purpose digital font for user interface designs, digital content, reading on laptops, mobile devices, and electronic books. Noto Sans CJK is provided in seven weights: Thin, Light, DemiLight, Regular, Medium, Bold, and Black.
Fully supporting CJK requires tens of thousands of characters—these languages share the majority of ideographic characters, but there are also characters that are unique to only one language or to a subset of the languages. One of the primary design goals of Noto Sans CJK is that each script should retain its own distinctive look, which follows regional conventions, while remaining harmonious with the others.
Adobe has released the same font family under the name Source Han Sans.
Google on Tuesday announced one of the most highly requested changes to Google+ since the social network debuted over three years ago: no more naming restrictions. Google+ users are now free to use whichever name they desire, whether it is a real name, online pseudonym or combination of the both.
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Google announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Alan Mulally to its Board of Directors. Mulally served as Ford President and CEO between September 2006 and June 2014, retiring from his post on July 1st. Mulally, who was appointed on July 9th, is serving on Google’s Audit Committee. His knowledge and connections in the automotive industry could be valuable towards the company’s self-driving car initiatives.
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Google has announced a new online training course called Developing Android Apps: Android Fundamentals, featuring Google Developer Advocates Reto Meier, Dan Galpin, and Katherine Kuan. The course delivers step-by-step training on how to develop Android apps, including some of the best practices for Android development and mobile development as a whole. All of the course materials are available for free through the educational website Udacity.
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The massive employee wage-fixing antitrust lawsuit between several Silicon Valley companies is only getting more interesting. An email exchange involving former Google CEO Eric Schmidt surfaced last week, shining light on Mountain View’s attempt to prevent Facebook from poaching its employees.
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A handful of leaked photos have surfaced online this afternoon that provide a first look at what is allegedly the Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone, which is expected to launch later this year. The photos were posted by users on the Chinese discussion forums Digi-wo and Weibo, showing off the Chinese version (model number L55t) of the upcoming smartphone.
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We’ve all heard about the Loch Ness Monster, which according to legend is a cryptic lake monster that roams through the waters of the Scottish Highlands. While the creature has never been proven to exist, it appears that the Google Maps team has decided to name a lake in Scotland after it in what amounts to a strange mistake.
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If you are looking for a good deal on the LG G3 smartphone, you will be happy to hear that Best Buy has started carrying the handset for $99 on a new two-year service agreement. That is $100 off the regular on-contract price of $199 that carriers AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are charging, plus you have the option to score a $50 Best Buy gift card on top by activating any new smartphone through July 12th.
To be eligible for the $50 gift card, you will need to fill out this form when activating your LG G3 smartphone. Best Buy carries the LG G3 in metallic black and silk white on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, so there is no reason not to purchase the handset through Best Buy versus directly from the carriers. You can read about this deal in full on 9to5Toys. If you spot an even better deal, let us know in the comments.
Sprint was expected to begin accepting pre-orders for the LG G3 smartphone this morning, although it appears that the U.S.’s third-largest carrier has decided to make the handset available for purchase ahead of time. The smartphone can be ordered from the Sprint website right now in an exclusive gold color, starting at $199.99 with a new two-year service agreement.
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TechCrunch has obtained leaked documents from within Yelp that accuse Google of manipulating search results to promote Google+ content over Yelp content. The report alleges that Google is boosting its own products on its search engine in the United States, but not in Europe where it is being slammed with antitrust complaints from European Union regulators.
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Zynga announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Google’s Vice President of Engineering, Advanced Technology and Projects Regina Dugan to its Board of Directors. Dugan joined Motorola Mobility in March 2012 to oversee the ATAP group, a skunkworks-inspired team tasked with coming up with breakthrough innovations in mobile computing. That team now falls under Google’s Android, Chrome & Apps division.
Don Mattrick, CEO of Zynga, calls Dugan an “incredible addition” to Zynga’s board:
“I have admired Regina’s work and visionary thinking for years and believe she will be an incredible addition to the Zynga Board of Directors and a true catalyst for creative thinking at Zynga,” said Mattrick. “Regina is a dynamic leader who embraces new ideas and inspires teams to reimagine how technology and tools can positively disrupt the world. As we focus on growing and sustaining our leading franchises and creating new hits, Regina’s expertise and counsel will put us in a better position to deliver consumers next generation entertainment experiences that span categories, platforms and devices.”
Dugan on how Zynga makes games that help people connect, share and energize:
“I believe we need to play. Zynga is full of creative thinkers who embrace the power of play. Einstein famously stated that ‘combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought,’ and this spirit is embodied in Zynga’s products, which have brought new technology to games. Games that help people connect, share, rest and energize through play. I look forward to working with Don and the board on the company’s next chapter,” said Dugan.
Dugan will retain her position at Google.